See the Salvation series here
The assertion, in Part 1, that there will be great tribulation (apocalypse) survivors in the Millennial Reign, age may sound unbelievable to many Christians who believe tribulation plagues will wipe out all humans on Earth! Zechariah 14, Revelation 20 and many other passages clearly and iteratively reveal there will indeed be survivors of the great tribulation! None, however, will have fought in the Armageddon War, per Zechariah 14:12. Part 1 posits a key role for great tribulation survivors during the Millennial Reign of Jesus, namely to sire and raise a new generation of human beings (‘millennials’) to re-populate Earth. Because most will likely have willingly received the mark of the beast during the tribulation age, they will still be spiritually owned by satan; they will have forever rejected Christ, and thus, they will not be allowed that choice again, per Revelation 14:10-11. But what of their children, millennials who will be born during the Millennial Reign? Will some of them perhaps be saved? This question has spawned many interpretations across the ages. Reviewing some of them reveals a considerable gap that I believe must be addressed.
Part 1 summarizes the three groups of humans who will benefit from God’s plan of salvation, people who constitute a small remnant of humanity. These groups are:
(1) people who were/will be conceived, but who were never born;
(2) people who were/will be born, but who never reach(ed) God’s ‘age of accountability’; and
(3) people who will have:
(a) matured to, and beyond His age of accountability, who, by faith,
(b) embrace His plan of salvation and,
(c) who were both owned and tempted by satan to reject all things Godly, but who broke free of this spiritual ownership/bondage, and overcame deceptions and temptations via saving faith in Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:11). However, Revelation 3:14-22 indicate some of these people will 'back slide', will not remain faithful to their commitment, and will be 'vomited out of' the spiritual Body of Christ. This correlates closely with what Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 about the great falling away of people who were previously faithful. I intuit some of these people who will be alive at the time of the next resurrection/rapture event, will miss it, but will have sufficient understanding of The Bible to reject the anti-Christ, even at the peril of their death by beheading! (See: Audacious Christians (Series), especially Part 2)
Points 3a - c are the foundation of ‘Christian salvation and spiritual rebirth in Christ’, upon which we are instructed to build and sustain Godly lives until we depart this life. Given this, the question of whether millennials can and will be saved during the Millennial Reign should logically be examined in light of these points. 1
Since satan’s kingdom will be locked away, inoperable on Earth during the Millennial Reign, there will be no direct satanic deceptions and temptations to un-Godliness. Ergo, I personally believe there will likely be no deliverance in Christ, i.e., no Christian salvation as we know it today. Zechariah 14:16-19 indicate all folks will still have Adam’s sinful, disobedient and rebellious human nature, just as you and I do. The Bible reveals Jesus will ardently control this via His iron-rod, monarchal rule. Much of His authority will be delegated through the ranks of us, His resurrected, then-immortal, GLORIFIED (glowing) saints who will govern Gentile cities and nations, as indicated in Luke 19:11-19. (See: The 4th Delegation of Authority (Series), especially Part 6, Millennial Job Description.)
Before God’s Grace of eternal salvation in Christ can be extended to these people born during His reign, it seems plausible that they, too, might need to be exposed to the virus of satanic ownership and temptations to un-Godliness. Otherwise, their salvation experience would have to be significantly different from that of all peoples who were so owned, deceived and tempted, and who broke free of satanic ownership by faith in Jesus as Christ. The alternative is to alter what we have all embraced as The Bible’s clear definition of ‘salvation and spiritual rebirth in Christ’.
To reiterate…
If the Bible’s clear definition of ‘salvation and spiritual rebirth in Christ’ remains unchanged as we know it today, then people born during the Millennial Reign can only be saved once they have been directly exposed to satanic ownership, deceptions and temptations, and have rejected it all in response to God’s offer of saving Grace in Christ.
If I am correct, most people born during the Millennial Reign age might not die until sometime in the post-Millennial Reign age. How can this be?! First, recall how long people lived in the pre-flood age. The longest recorded lifespan was that of Methuselah who lived 969 years, just short of ‘a day’ if, as Moses wrote in Psalm 90:4, and Peter reiterated in 2 Peter 3:8, that a Day with The Lord is 'as' a thousand years. But that age was rife with sinfulness on the pristine Earth! Moreover, some devils exponentially increased sinfulness by becoming humans (‘leaving their proper domain’, per Jude 6), and marrying women!
Now imagine this: (Listen to: Finally!)
—Earth, once again pristine,
—Humans and the entire animal/sea/insect kingdoms are back on their original, Genesis 1:29-30 diets, (See: When Lions Ate Straw)
—All devils are locked away, and
—The Lord, through all His saints and angels, is policing/enforcing righteousness worldwide. (See: Earth’s Cloaked Satellites (Series))
I have absolutely no problems believing people born under such conditions could live much longer than a thousand years. Do you??
Admittedly, without clear, specific Bible guidance, this is obviously a controversial topic. My opinions are derived from a broad understanding of The Bible’s ‘salvation context’. Believe as you are led.
The Bible twice reveals satan’s kingdom MUST/WILL be released for 'a little while' after the Millennial Reign, to tempt the whole world. Why must this occur?! 2 I perceive their release will present a trio of opportunities for ‘millennials’:
(1) to be tested by God for faith in Him who will, once again, be un-seen,
(2) to experience, and hopefully resist satanic, un-Godly deceptions and temptations sustainably, and
(3) hopefully demonstrably choose to embrace God’s salvation in Christ.
In the series, anti-Christ and Mid-ages Musings, I explain The Lord’s clear, persistent, strategic pattern He is applying across the first six ‘ages of humanity’, leading to the seventh, eternal age. His strategic pattern includes a well-defined role for satan’s rebellious kingdom. The Lord ‘strategically decommissioned’ and locked-up a contingent of this kingdom before or during the global flood judgment, for leaving their proper/angelic domain, and corrupting the human race by marrying women. (See: Humans’ DNA Hacked (Poem)) The remaining contingent of satan’s kingdom remains useful in The Lord’s multi-millennial, strategic pattern. Hence, the predicted post-Millennial release of the kingdom of satan back onto Earth. The many strategic puzzle pieces strewn all across The Bible, seem to fall in their unique places.
If God’s strategic plan is indeed to extend His trio of opportunities to every human being who will have ever lived past His age of accountability, then the inference is that the lifespans of millennials, people born in the Millennial Reign age, will be significantly extended, and that none of them might die during the Millennial Reign age. Thus, it seems safe to intuit that some millennials at that time (especially those born early in that age) might live even longer than people lived in before the global flood, i.e., possibly as long as, or longer than Methuselah who lived 969 years. (Genesis 5:27) This is indeed significant.
If this is the case, it fits very well with the insight God gave to Isaiah that people ‘from Jerusalem’ at that time will enjoy long lives. (Isaiah 65:20) This same verse, however, clearly indicates there will be death during the Millennial Reign age, prompting the question, ‘How can there be death in that period if millennials might live exceptionally long lives, well beyond the Millennial Reign?’
The answer to this question is revealed in reviewing the groups that will comprise Earth’s millennial population:
(1) immortal saints from across all ages,
(2) great tribulation (apocalypse) survivors—both Jews and Gentiles, possibly including children), and
(3) millennials (both Jews and Gentiles) born in the new millennium.
The majority of the second group will likely no longer be candidates for God’s saving Grace, because they will have received the anti-Christ's mark. (Revelation 14:9-11), and thus will be subject to normal physical death in accordance with the age(s) in which they were born, i.e. The Church age, or the tribulation age — the third and fourth ages of humanity. The third group, however, will not directly experience satanic deceptions and temptations to un-Godliness until AFTER the Millennial Reign, and to experience such, they must …be alive. Makes strategic sense?? Believe me, I was as surprised and shocked at this insight, as you likely are now! ;o)
This intuited strategic pattern will ensure there will be no human being who was born, and who survived to reach God’s ‘age of accountability’, will appear before His Judgment bar without having been directly exposed to the virus of satanic ownership, deceptions and temptations to un-Godliness, and the opportunity to accept God's offer of redemption in Christ. The Bible reveals this exact, same offer was made available to ‘just people who were made perfect/righteous', including people who lived and died before Christ’s sacrifice was made available. (Hebrews 12:22-24)
This also might explain why Revelation 20:12 and 15 declare, '...and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is The Book of Life ...And anyone not found written in The Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire'. Because I was (erroneously) taught all souls raised in the last resurrection will be cast into the lake of fire, I wondered why then would The Lord decide or need to consult (open) His Book of Life at that time?? I now understand the reason may be to confirm who, among people born both during and after the Millennial Reign, will have embraced God's offer of salvation in Christ, during the 'little while' 6th age of history, when the kingdom of satan is, once again, released on Earth!!! Makes strategic sense??
For you who might believe people born in the millennium will die during that period, your belief raises these critical questions:
—What might be their position, spiritually, at the last (White Throne) judgment,
having never experienced direct satanic temptations to un-Godliness??
—Will they be able to join all of the other saints in Glory to sing songs of our REDEMPTION??
Similarly, believing some people born during the Millennial Reign will be saved in that period triggers this critical question:
Saved from what?!
See Part 3
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1 The age of accountability is believed to be the age at which a child is spiritually accountable to understand good from evil, and therefore be responsible for his/her words and actions. See: What is the age of accountability?
2 The issue of how long ‘a little while’ might be is open to much speculation. For sure, it will be ‘long enough to get the job done!’ See: Revelation 20:3, 7. See also: God’s Inferred Strategic Timelines; Bible Raptures (Q&A); Millennial Parallelisms (#5); First and Second Comings (Poem)
